Morning journal and courier., 1887-05-18
A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE. Damage From $2J,OOO To
 S3O. .OOO.

Damage From $25,OOO To 1 $3O,OOO.
 | Breaks Out Near o'clock In Punder- l son's Lithographic Works On Cen.
 ter Street-Rap1d Spread Of The l Flames-The Upper Part Of The l White Building Much Damaged
 Havoc By Fire And water-The Window Shade Company,s Premises Drenched In The Rear-A Gallant l And Successful Fight By The Fire.
 men.
 l A destructive fire broke out this morning at
 1:4O o'clock in the printing and Autograph l ing establishment of Lemuel s. Pundersop. l 12 Center street.
 The alarm was rung from box Mo- 21, cor l ner of Orange and Chapel streets The fire | was discovered by the night watchman of the White building.
 Fire Marshal Kennedy arrived quickly after the alarm had been struck The flames were then coming out of the windows facing Gen. ter street, on the third and fourth floors. He saw that the fire was hard one to fight and so ordered second alarm to. be sent out The streams from the ground were soon playing on the flames. Ladders were put up. One line of hose was soon taken up to the roof through stairway in that part of Whit els building where there was no fire Another was carried up 8 ladder and taken through Loomis' Temple of Music On the opposite side of the street against new un- finished brick building another ladder was hoisted and line put to play the flames. The flames were somewhat extinguished on the third floor, but they kept breaking forth afresh above. All the fremen could do did not stop the flames from spreading along the roof of the building in the direc- ton of Chapel street.
 The ropes had been put up at the Church street and Orange street ends of Center street to keep the crowd back. Center street was a perfect mass of coiling hose. The room that the hose and engines did not take up was occupied by the cores of policemen and people.
 The flames kept eating their way through the roof, and it was not long before they were branching out in all directions. Smoke kept oozing out of the entire upper story of Loomis' Temple, and it was evident that the fire was to extend to the top of that building.
 Professor Shepard and MT. c. NJ. Loomis' of Music and with help that came pianos and organs were moved from the rear of the store away from the water which had begun to drip. D. s. Thomas telephoned to the Smedleys and others to get their heavy wagons to the scene. Next door, at the New Haven Window Shade Co.'s, the water was descending in the rear in torrents, damaging large quantity of rolls of paper and other goods. This store runs further back than the corner one and has branch store on the Center street side which joins the main store. Here also much damage was done by water. On Center street, right under where the fire was blazing and the burning pieces of the cornice were falling, was the Window Shade company store, then the Punderson office, then John c. Miles tailor store NIT. Miles fine stock of goods was much drenched with water. He has some insurance. MT. Punderson's son was soon at the scene, also MT. Judd of the Window Shade company and MT. A. F. Smith of the latter store arrived later. MT. Punderson es- timated the value of the printing presses, Autograph materials, paper and the other property of the concern. on the premises at $20,000, and thought the insurance which was in various companies would nearly cover.
 MT. John c. North was at the fire. His firm has insurance on the White building where the fire broke out, and on Loomis' Temple, also owned by the White estate' and both buildings are also insured in other companies. How the fire started is a mys- tery and is unaceounted for, though it is be- lieved it was accidental.
 The Pundersons occupied good part of the third floor for their type-setting rooms and much of the second floor for their Photographic department. There were two or three rooms over the Center street stores occupied by roomers. At o'clock the fire was gaining along the roof of Loomis' Temple of Music over the hall, and it looked if the roof would go, but the progress of the fire in the opposite direction was slow. The iron doors and heavy brick partitions oppose the spread of the fire also toward the lower part of Loomis', the flames mak ing headway only along the roof Inc nre aI '':lo Was PIacGlcally eA eAtlngulsueu, but the water was pouring onto the different floors in torrents. A small part of. the roof of Loomis' was burned. The Window Shade company's men were at work for an hour or more after the fire was got under control moving their goods away from the descend ing torrents of water. P. F. Bohans tailor store and stock were damaged by water. Loomis' Hall was drenched and the water had begun at o'clock to work through into the piano store. The firemen worked with great energy and are entitled to great credit. Fire Commissioner Brown and Superintendent Smith were present at the fire.